Use and Revenge
by Maykuu
Summary: Kuja is spiteful after Zidane rescues him from death in the roots of the Iifa Tree, and when Blank, Zidane's best friend, falls into his custody, the gears start turning... Warning: Sex, violence, and Shounen Ai.
1. Chapter 1

Blank could feel the burn of unshed tears in his throat as he made his way through the woods, yet he refused to cry. He tried to tell himself that Zidane wasn't worth his tears, but years of best friendship had made it difficult for the redhead to lie to himself about it… so he tried to tell himself that there was no reason to cry.

"It's not like we had anything either," Blank said through gritted teeth. The trees responded with the sounds of rustling leaves as the wind blew. Truthfully, Blank and Zidane had everything together. They would eat, steal, hide, and even sleep together. Before Garnet, there were few instances when the blond could be found without him by his side. And of course, the princess couldn't be like any ordinary girl, the kind of girl Zidane would leave for the comforts of Blank's arms every night. Nope, she had to domesticate him, tying him on a leash that promised an unfathomably good lay.

Physically, Blank wouldn't let himself show any emotions, but inside he was screaming in agony. How could Zidane do this to him? How could he treat him like some used girl he'd found in a bar?

Blank felt betrayed, but he was too hurt to manage feeling angry. He'd tried to be supportive of Zidane's relationship with Garnet, but Zidane didn't really care about her either. He just wanted easy access, and a comfortable pad to crash on.

It began to rain.

"Fuck," Blank murmured, sprinting to avoid the mud that would suck at his boots and soil his only clean pants. For fear of having an emotional breakdown, Blank had fled from Alexandria, fled from Zidane, without pause to grab something as trivial as a spare set of clothing. His only thought was separating himself as far from Zidane as possible, in the quickest amount of time.

He'd used the excuse that he wanted to Check up on the people of Dali, and make sure that they had successfully managed to go back to agriculture as the main occupation, and that the mayor had been replaced by someone more suitable. Zidane ate it up.

Dali was in sight, and Blank was chilled to the bone. He escaped all but an inch of mud on the bottoms of his boots, and accepted it stoically. He kept his eyes on the cloud of steam that seeped from his mouth with each breath, thankful to have the chilling rain smack against his face to concentrate on rather then Zidane.

He'd nearly reached the little village, and was exhausted to the point that he had to gasp for each breath, but he didn't slow. Suddenly something gripped his ankle, causing him to trip and cut his chin on a rock. His head swam as he looked behind him to see the oversized Ochu that owned the circuit of tentacle around his ankle.

Blank cried out as another tentacle snapped onto his other leg, pulling him closer. Instead of pondering the existence of this creature without the Mist still around, Blank grabbed the short sword at his waist and tugged it free, slashing at the tentacles with swift, prominent strokes. The Ochu made a terrible screeching noise as it yanked back it's severed vines, green ooze seeping from the ends where Blank had kept them. The other halves of the vines were still wrapped tightly around his ankles, causing his feet to tingle a little at the loss of circulation.

The Ochu attacked again, flicking out it's two other vines simultaneously. Having rolled over onto his back, Blank was able to deflect them expertly. The Ochu screeched again, and a thick greenish cloud of poisonous spores floated from under the massive plant monster. Blank felt the burn of the spores cling to the inside of his throat and lungs as he sucked in breath, unable to hold it after running for so long. The Ochu made a final attempt to attack the redhead on the ground, now entirely caked in mud, but when balked once again, it fled.

Blank coughed, and pressed his palm to his for head to test the temperature of his already growing fever. He moaned, stabbing his sword into the ground to push himself up with. Once he'd gained his balance, Blank yanked his sword from the muddy ground and shoved it back into its spot at his waist. Painstakingly he made his way to the village, each movement hurting more then the last.

He could feel the poison moving in him, attaching itself to his cells and overpowering them, multiplying, killing him. He gasped for breath, and shook with exhaustion and cold. Images of Zidane floated before his eyes. Luckily, the Inn was one of the first things in the village.

Blank leaned against the door of the Inn and turned the knob, falling in and sending a spray of mud in small flecks along the floor. He closed his eyes, and felt something soft rub against the side of his face, then something painfully hot and rough flick at his ear. He opened his eyes warily to see the black and orange tabby cat the Inn was famous for. He shifted his gaze towards the desk where the innkeeper slept peacefully without having noticed his clumsy entrance.

He clawed at the floor as he managed to get on his hands and knees, and from then Blank was able to stand again, his entire body trembling violently and threatening to give out. He managed to walk to the innkeeper's desk, leaving behind a trail of muddy boot prints. "I need a room," he croaked.

The innkeeper looked up, blinking away his sleep. His eyes suddenly shot open as he recognized the authority figure. "Y-yes, very good, through the door… but you'll have to share it with another guest I'm afraid…"

Blank didn't wait for the explanation. Instead, he slumped towards the room, mud dripping from every inch of him as he trembled. Pride kept him from falling through the doorway again, but it took every bit of effort he had to open the door without fault, walk through, and shut it behind him. Rain beat noisily on the windows, giving Blank a terrible headache.

On one side of the room, a man groaned beneath the blankets of one of the inn's six beds, clearly irritated by Blank's intrusion. Blank paid him no mind as he shimmied out of his cloths, letting them fall in a muddy heap on the floor.

"Now look here!" the owner of the groan said, throwing off his blankets with frustration. Blank didn't look. Instead, he sluggishly moved towards one of the beds on the other side of the room. He heard a gasp from the other occupant, but it was so far away he couldn't worry about it. He reached a trembling hand towards the bed that was still a few steps away, and felt the floor jerk from beneath his feet.

As Blank fell back, he felt two blessedly cool arms catch him, and pull him into a weightless void, and then everything was black.


	2. Chapter 2

_I can hear the rain pounding against the ground. I can't see, or breath, but I'm conscious. I don't know how much time has passed, but every moment is agony, leaning against the vines that bind me. The forest has me, but it is just as frozen in time as I am. I can feel something wiggle past my lips, probably a bug. I try to scream, scream for Zidane to help me, to grant me life again so that I could spit this bug out. I imagine myself thrashing about, can almost feel my limbs smack against the vines as I would try to escape, but it's helpless. I try anyway, just for the hell of it. It's something to do. I know my bros will rescue me soon, and I know Zidane must be dying for my company._

_I would smile in his memory if I could move._

_I can feel whatever it is that has crawled into my mouth begin to crawl down my throat. I don't need to breath as a stone statue, but that doesn't stop me from choking. I begin to panic, the thing wriggling deeper into my throat, trying to crawl inside me. This isn't right; nothing has ever crawled down my throat before!_

_I can feel the vines squeeze tighter around my waist, but that can't be right either, they're supposed to be stone too! They're crushing my belly beneath my ribs, squeezing tighter. I try to kick my legs back against them, but they are stuck in place, I try to scream, but the bug is clogging up my throat._

_All of the sudden I find myself needing to breath, needing to suck in the air that is kept from me by the bug in my throat. My chest burns, terribly, the vines are squeezing so tight! I try to move, thrashing about and flinging random blows wherever I can land them. "Zidane!" I choke out over the bug, clawing at the vines, "Zidane help me!!"_

Blank felt arms thrusting under his ribs. He gasped for breath, struggling violently to escape the hold. Something solid hit the inside of his teeth as it was pumped from him forcefully. The redhead felt his stomach spasm, and he vomited through his barely gaping lips. Whoever was holding him, moved one arm up to support his chest as Blank was bent over.

"Spit," a cold voice demanded.

Blank opened his eyes to the candle lit blur before him. As his eyes cleared, he identified the floor of the Dali inn. His bare toes brushed the coldish floor, but for the most part he was suspended entirely by the strong arms that held him. Cued by a wooden bowl passed into his line of vision, Blank spat obediently.

Blank saw strands of glimmering silver on both sides of his head, swinging as whoever was behind him, moved him to a bed. Blank could see a bucket of acid green vomit in a bucket as he was moved, and felt the bile raise in his stomach once again, but he held it in.

His body ached terribly, and the feathery mattress granted him the gift of something solid beneath him working horizontally against gravity. It was uncomfortable being held upright.

As he was being laid down, his body shadowed the light, reducing his headache considerably. The arms began to turn him over again, so he let his eyes shut against the painful candlelight. He groaned softly hearing the footsteps fade as whoever it was walked away. The footsteps returned, and with them came the press of cold tin to his lower lip.

"Sip," the cold voice demanded softly.

Blank opened his mouth, and felt the soothing liquid pass through his lips. He gulped the water greedily, and then winced as he felt it hit the bottom of his empty stomach painfully.

"I said sip," the voice says again. "Unless you can eat some bread now, you're stomach will reject the water, but I'm not sure you can handle bread yet." The voice is little more then a whisper, soothing his headache with its syrupy quality, but the iciness of the tone touched his heart with feelings of regret and frustration. The was familiar to him somehow, but he couldn't exactly place it's source in his memory.

"Sorry," Blank managed to croak. His throat burned, having only temporarily been soothed by the cool water. He opened his eyes; slowly to avoid the pain the candlelight brought him. Objects pulled into each other, clarifying steadily as he blinked. What he saw was almost enough to push him back to unconsciousness, but his instincts burned his nerves into cooperating this once.

Standing by his bedside, a tin cup in one hand and a brown wooden spit bowl in the other, Zidane's brother looked down on him with the half lidded expression of disinterest painted over his sharply cut features. His silver hair had grown a bit, now coming to his knees in long, sparkling strands. He was also clothed this time, with light, black leather pants encased with myriads of buckles and chains; potential weapons. His feet and chest were bare however, showing off the light build that disappeared into his thin, delicate looking neck. His eyes were different, darker somehow, his hands not so dainty as Blank remembered them being when he first encountered the bastard, however there was no mistaking that it was Kuja when his brown tail was identified, flicking idly against the back of his calves.

Kuja's lips twisted into an odd smile when he saw Blank's face contort with a surprised rage laced with fear. He placed his hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side wearing that same odd smile and waited to see how Blank would react to seeing the man who had almost been responsible for the entire destruction of Gaea. Kuja's interest increased when Blank's expression faded into one of deepest pain.

Kuja was right there; looking at him, practically armed to the teeth, and the only think Blank could think about was Zidane. Zidane said Kuja was dead. Zidane had lied to him. "What do you want with me?"

Kuja laughed, his wicked sounding laugh and kicked a stool into place by Blank's bedside, and took a seat. "Is that what you say to someone who has just saved your life? Do you realize how hard it was to track down the ingredients for an antidote to save you in time? However I should have expected my brother would keep the company of such ungrateful people."

Blank couldn't understand why the comment stung so badly, it was probably just the after effects of being so close to death though. He asked again, "What do you want with me?" The act of raising his voice caused some flem to enter his throat. He began to cough. Kuja held the bowl under his chin in time for Blank to hack up something greenish in color. Kuja set the bowl down, and tipped the water cup against Blank's lips, the cool water rinsing away the fiery pain the act of coughing had inflicted on him. Blank sank back against the feathery bed with exhaustion.

"You, my pet," Kuja began with that syrupy iciness, "are the key to my revenge." He placed a cool hand on Blank's forehead, and smoothed back his hair. Frowning, he took something from a pouch lying on the bed parallel to Blanks. It looked like a wadded up leaf tied with strands of grass. Kuja put it in his mouth and began to chew it.

"Open your mouth," Kuja demanded with the wadded leaf under his tongue. Blank looked at him, beginning to feel dizzy.

"Zidane won't come for me," he said with half a tired smirk.

"Oh, but I think he will," Kuja purred confidently, forcing a finger into Blank's mouth to pry open his jaw. Blank opened his mouth apathetically, letting out a tiny cry of surprise as Kuja lowered his lips to Blanks, guiding the wadded leaf with his tongue into Blank's mouth. "Swallow this, before you fall asleep again," he ordered quietly, pinching Blank's nose shut, and holding his mouth closed.

Out of instinct, Blank swallowed the chewed leaf, taking in a breath of air as soon as Kuja had permitted it. The sudden breath caused Blank's head to spin even more, and mercifully, Blank fell back into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

When Blank finally came too again, he was alone. Next to his bed was a tin cup half filled with water, and a neat pile of wadded up leaves. Under the tin cup was a note scrawled in large, flamboyant letters that read: "Remember to sip. If you get dizzy, chew the leaves."

The note was signed with a K.

Carefully, Blank lifted his torso, and propped himself up against the pillow behind him. He took the cup, and sucked a little water through his lips to sooth his parched throat. His stomach ached as he felt the water hit it, but it didn't hurt nearly as bad as before. Hunger raked at his conscious, but he had a more pressing matter to attend to. Blank really, really had to pee.

Using the wall to support himself, he was able to stand after a few tries. Once he'd up righted himself, his head swam. Hastily, Blank stuffed a leaf into his mouth and chewed thoroughly, rinsing it down with a moderate gulp of water. His stomach ached a bit more, but his vision was finally able to be of use.

His knees shook under his weight as he made his way along the wall towards the door. It hadn't exactly occurred to him that he was stark naked, but the way his bladder burned for release kept him from noticing the goose bumps that rose against the slight breeze as it caressed his skin.

As he reached for the doorknob, the door flew open, slamming loudly against the other side of the wall. Kuja stormed in, his face red, and his fingers tangled in his hair, pulling a little. In surprise, Blank fell backwards, his tailbone smashing against the bedpost. He gave out a little yelp, and began to sink to the floor, but before he could hit, he felt two strong arms wrap around his waist, holding him up.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Kuja began, his voice gradually melting from fury to that silvery, cool tone of his. "Surely you weren't trying to escape."

Blank Melted into Kuja's arms as he felt one of the arms scooping up under his knees and lifting him. His head lolled against Kuja's chest, his head swimming again. "Gotta...pee," he managed, his voice cracking as the act of breething stole away the little releif he'd felt from the sip of water he'd had. It was then, as he pressed his thighs together, that he noticed he was naked. It was is if the color of his hair melted into his face, coloring it darkly.

Kuja placed a hand over Blank's forhead to check for a fever, then chuckled lowly. Blank let out a little sigh as he heard Kuja chuckle, feeling the vibrations of the other man's diaphram. It was a nice feeling, causing him to wonder why Kuja didn't substitute it for the unnerving laugh he was always giving Zidane... Zidane.. Blank felt his stomach churn as he thought of the blond, his body instinctively curling up a little in Kuja's arms.

"Let me help you," Kuja said after he stopped chuckling. Blank let out a tiny noise as the soothing vibrations ceased, mentally kicking himself for letting himself enjoy it. Kuja took the noise as a squeek of urgency, the chuckle rumbling in his belly for a few moments. "Alright, alright. Just hold it in a minute longer."

Kuja set the redhead down on one of the beds, then went to another and pulled a sheet free, shaking it out to make sure there weren't any oglops hiding away in it. The inn wasn't the best, as cozy as it looked, and he'd already found some questionable substances growing on the floor under one of the beds. He brought the sheet over to Blank, who'd began to shiver in the cold. The sheet was wrapped around his shoulders, and tucked together under his chin before Kuja used his endless strength to lift the boy effortlessly again.

"I... I can walk on my own," he protested weakly, head lolling against Kuja's chest, letting out a soft, comfortable sigh when he felt the light rumbling of Kuja's laughter once more. He bit his tongue, chastising himself for liking it... but at least he could justify it by making the connection that Kuja was Zidane's brother, and if he found Zidane attractive, it would only be natural that Kuja were attractive two, regardless of how vile he was.

"Good. It would be embarrassing if I had to hold you while you peed."

Kuja carried Blank out of the room, not bothering to shut the door which he'd thrown open so violently a few minutes previous. The clerk was fast asleep at his desk, as usual, and the Inn's cat was sitting on the shelf. Seeing movement, the cat quickly sprang down from his shelf, and followed the pair out the door. Kuja took Blank out back, setting him down close enough to the wall that he could hold himself up, turning around to wait for Blank to take care of business... And then he saw the cat, perfect, angular features of his face wrinkled up in distaste. "Hurry up so we can go back inside," he growled softly, back of his wrist coming to his nose as the cat rubbed itself over his ankle.

"Don't rush me!" Blank complained, the sound of liquid hitting the soil as he relieved himself. When he was finished, he pulled the sheet tightly around himself, one hand pressing against the wall for support as he turned around to face Kuja just in time to see the other trying to shoo the cat away with his foot, holding his nose tightly between index finger and thumb.

Cracked lips spread into a grin as Blank bent his knees in a crouch, holding the sheet closed over himself with one hand while he gestured for the cat to get closer to him with the other. "Don't like cats?" He asked, fingertips moving to scratch behind the cat's ears. The feline began to purr instantly, body moving to rub against the redhead's ankles now. Frowning, Kuja quickly moved forward to pick the boy up, holding him to himself tightly. "You don't know what kind of diseases it carries," he murmured acidly, his voice sounding slightly congested as he walked quickly back into the room, shutting the door before the cat could slip in.

Blank might have protested, but as soon as Kuja picked him up, the change in position caused his blood to rush irregularly, making him dizzy once more. _Why'd I have to get sick?!_ He asked himself, head lolling away from Kuja's chest to hang over the side of his arm, causing his neck to ache a little. His head continued to spin, even after he felt the solid surface of the bed support him when Kuja had laid him down. Eventually, after a handful of deep breaths, he was able to open his eyes and see things properly. Kuja was already working on something, his back turned towards Blank, and the sound of metal scraping wetly on metal in front of him.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, squinting his eyes against the occasional wave of blurriness.

"Mixing your medicine. Mira is too small to fly yet, so we'll be taking Kol, but that's going to set us back a few days. You can't imagine how costly this is going to be..."

"Mmn?"

"Kol. The last full grown silver dragon. You and your friends slaughtered them when they were trying to defend me." He turned around, lips pressed together grimly while he shoved a bit of silvery hair out of his eyes, a clean metal bowl with an earthy smelling liquid in it in his free hand with a spoon sticking out of it. "It shouldn't taste too bad, but it will put you to sleep, and when you wake up, the infection should be gone. I doubt you'll sleep through the entire flight, but this is a fairly strong dose..." He'd push Blank's legs aside a little so he could sit on the side of the bed before stirring the mixture again just for safe measure. "Open up, or I'll do something you won't like."

Blank, who had little intention of remaining sick forever, opened his mouth after wrinkling his nose defiantly. Kuja brought the bowl close, and held it to Blank's lips. Blank lifted his shaky hands to hold the bowl himself, and Kuja let him do so with a little sigh, smoothing Blank's hair back out of his eyes. "Finish it to the last drop, and whatever you do, DON'T throw it up. It'll piss me off more then the stupidity of your friends."

Blank did finish it, but he paced himself this time, watching Kuja turn his back on him agian as he sipped the bitter liquid that tasted as if it had been sweetened with honey. Already, he felt his head being yanked against the pillow again, but he felt compelled to finish it, and finish it he did, dropping the empty bowl on the floor as he finally submitted to gravety's pull, head falling against the pillow, and eyes closing tightly to block away all traces of the light. He could feel cool fingers smoothing back his hair a little while longer before he fell asleep once more...


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm falling now. The vines have come back to life, but they dropped me when I remained stone. I can't move, can't breath, can't see. My eyes have been frozen shut, and all I can do is feel, feel the air rushing past me. I can't move to defend myself against the hard ground, I'll probably shatter... I can't even see how far I'm falling, but I know it's been a long way already..._

_I must be falling faster now. There is still nothing I can do. My arms and legs... they're stuck, stretching out for Zidane... I can't see him, but I know he was there just a little while ago. He must have been there just a little while ago! I want to call out for him, but I can't move my mouth. Zidane, why won't you catch me?! Why can't you save me from falling? Just this once? Zidane? Zidane! ZIDANE!!!! ZIIIIDOOO-_

_Something warm wrapping around my waist... arms... followed by a warm weight on my back... My arms and legs straddle the air beneith me, just as a warm body holds me from behind, the backs of my legs cradling the one's behind me. I can stop panicking now... because even if I do fall and shatter into a thousand peices, at least I know I'll be easing the fall of the one behind me..._

"Zidane..." Blank murmured in his sleep, causing a frown to spread over Kuja's lips. He sighed softly, and relaxed over the boy who'd been screaming and thrashing about on the back of the dragon in which they rode just moments before. Was it because he was sick? Or did he always have nightmares like this..? Kuja could only wonder...


End file.
